


zombies are just an inconvenience

by powerrangers



Series: zombies are just an inconvenience [1]
Category: One Direction, The Walking Dead, zombie - Fandom
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Harry Styles - Freeform, Louis Tomlinson - Freeform, Zayn Malik - Freeform, Zombies, one direction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-26
Updated: 2013-06-26
Packaged: 2017-12-16 06:54:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/859166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/powerrangers/pseuds/powerrangers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So nobody counted on the apocalypse, or not having a future for those living in it. It was now all about fighting for your life, staying strong, trusting no one,  and living for the moment, and I guess in those last few moments there was a chance for love to shine through as well</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I kinda planned this to be a one chapter/one shot kinda thing but I went a little too far??? Oh, well. I'm too lazy to tell you how many words, but I hope you like it. It made me a little sad to write, but there are good parts in there, and feel free to correct me on anything you think are wrong!! It was literally a coincidence that during the writing this a playlist I had on began to play "zombie" by the cranberries, but I couldn't help smiling(even though the song really has nothing to do with zombies oops). Thank you for reading.

It really wasn't supposed to end like this. They were supposed to be famous. They were supposed to make something of themselves. Heck, they  _had_ been something. They had been something great, and powerful, in the best way possible. They were taking over the world with their music, becoming known around the world. They had wonderful futures. But, too soon it had been taken from underneath them. It had been ripped away from them, and they were left to fend for themselves. 

"Nothing?" Harry asked timidly. He kicked some rubble around, trying not to think too hard about the situation. Zayn couldn't even look at him. He could only give a cold stare, aimed towards the ground. There was nothing. Nobody was left. The house was empty. This was their last chance. Their last hope that they could find a way to get out of this. They could find a way to live again.

"Where's Louis?" Harry said louder, when he realized Zayn wasn't going to answer him, and he didn't have to think very hard to know the answer. 

"Upstairs." Zayn barely whispered. Harry knew it was there. Zayn had been the strongest. For the past year, since this whole ordeal had started. He had refused to give in to tears, or lost hopes, or even the undead themself, but it was coming. Zayn was breaking. His family was gone. Most of his friends were gone. Almost half of the band was gone. It was over. 

Harry simply nodded, pretending to not see the tear that fell down Zayn's face. He turned, and made his way up the stairs, hoping Louis was okay, and nothing was up there that could harm him.

It had started exactly a year ago today. The  _Epidemic._ Nobody saw it coming. The boys were celebrating, touring the United States. They were in New York, in the summer, barbecuing for the first time in what felt like forever. They wanted to have a good time. Rest a little before the show the next day. They were outside, with friends, playing soccer and just enjoying the warm day. 

 _It_ had been walking through the woods right behind the home of the person they had been visiting. It was just there. Walking towards the home. Niall had found it first.It wasn't a living thing. It looked human, and it talked and moved, sort of. But, it wasn't human. 

He wanted to see if it was okay. He wanted to know if the person, thing, whatever it was, was okay, and because of that, Niall was the first one to go.

It wasn't the first sign, but it was the first one the boys got. 

It only took weeks for things, and people, to disappear. For the government to corrupt. For the people to turn against themselves, human and not. For literally  _all hell to break loose._

 _  
_They had flown back to England right before all of the airports shut down and became infested. They wanted to spend time with their families, because they finally understood what was happening, but I guess that's not how it was supposed to work out.

Harry thanked God everyday that they were still alive, a year later. Louis, Zayn, and him. Liam had been taken just a month ago. Niall had been hard enough, extremely, but losing another friend, well, it cut them all in side. 

"I'll be right back. Stay safe," It was all Harry said and he was lightly jogging up the stairs to see where Louis had gone, crossbow at the ready, and a knife in his belt, in case anything were to try to come out and surprise him. "Lou?" He turned a corner, walking into one of the empty bedrooms with a concentrated expression on his face.

Zayn continued looking around, making sure the front, and back door, of the home were locked securely. He had his dagger, I guess you could call it, but he also had a gun. He didn't like to use it because they always made too much noise, and could even attract more unwanted attention from more biters, but he had to be safe. He went through the kitchen, anger bubbling through the surface when he realized that his mom's home had been ransacked. Obviously, his mom had not been here when this had happened. She was on vacation, with his sisters, in France , when the whole thing started, and it wasn't long before France was taken over. His family was gone, that fact he faced a long time ago, but he just wished that he could've came back to his hometown, to just see a house that was in peace.

There was trash every where, broken glass and rubble from outside. There was dried blood here in there, either from wandering biters or strays trying to find a safe place. Most of the food was gone, and what wasn't had rottened.  Items were scattered throughout as Zayn went past the kitchen, into the living room. Furniture was torn and tattered and Zayn thought that maybe biters had been here, trying to get to someone or something and he hoped whatever it was had gotten away. 

"Zayn!" There was a shout from upstairs moments later, and Zayn didn't think twice before pulling out his dagger and taking the steps two at a time, hoping his friends weren't in danger. 

"Are you alright? What happened?" He ran in the bedroom he had heard Louis' voice come from, and he was surprised to see Harry and Louis, standing, and perfectly in tact.

"You're not going to believe this." Was all Louis had to say, before he opened the closet door.

 

 ~

It was his youngest sister, Safaa, curled up and crying. Her hair was matted, and probably hadn't been cared for in God knows how long. Her eyes weren't bright, but instead filled with fear and sadness. She wore regular day clothes, jeans and a t-shirt, but they were tattered as well, with spots of blood. 

Zayn thought it was all a dream.

"Oh, my god, Safaa." He was hugging her in an instant, and she screamed and fought back. It hadn't really dawned on her that that was her brother, the one that had always promised to protect her. The one who always told her he would be there for her. She was just scared. She just wanted to be happy again, and feel safe, and hiding  in a closet for so long didn't give you that secure feeling. But, Zayn couldn't let go. It was his sister. His youngest sister. She was still alive. She was different, and it hurt Zayn that she wouldn't just hug him back, but he couldn't blame her. It had been a year since he had seen her, almost a year since he had any contact with her. How had she survived? She was barely old enough to take care of herself, so had she managed to survive biters and burglars(i guess you could still call them that, even though nothing was really claimed and rightfully anybody's anymore), people and things who didn't care for children like her. How?

Zayn was crying. He hadn't felt this much _feeling_ and happiness since the whole ordeal started. He had begun to think that soon Harry and Louis would be gone, and so would he. He didn't want to become like other people, the one's who only fought for themselves. That's the reason the human race was truly dying. Not because of the biters, but because people weren't willing to help each other. He didn't have hope that they would be able to live much longer. A year was more than long enough, and it didn't seem to be getting much better. But, Safaa was here. She was alive. He felt like he was breaking in half. His heart had already broken long ago, but this was different. It was like his body was being ripped in half, by pure  _feeling._ He had pushed it all back, but it was coming back like rushing water spilling over a waterfall. 

 Harry and Louis didn't exactly know what to do. They knew Safaa well; they had known Zayn's whole family well. They were so happy for him, and that's why Louis had immediately called up Zayn to the room. They hadn't known it would be someone they knew. They just knew it was a person, alive and well. Another human being besides themselves. They had also thought they were the last few people on the planet. But, Safaa was here. And, that had to mean that someone was taking care of her. In this house. It was the only way she could've survived. This meant there were more people. They didn't want to point it out to Zayn, because they hadn't seen him like this for almost a year, and they just wanted Zayn to be happy, even if it meant only for a few moments. They just watched, tears glistening in their eyes and hearts heavy, as Zayn continued to cradle his sister, until she finally realized it was her big brother. 

~

 

"There has to be more." Zayn whispered. After finding Safaa and reuniting, they asked her questions. She couldn't say much because it was clear there was too much pain from her side as well. Zayn stopped asking after he mentioned mom, and why wasn't Safaa in France too, and she started to have a panic attack. They then started bordering up the open windows and door, and making sure no light could get through. They brought out all of the water and food they had in their bag, and tried their best to remain quiet as the sun went down. They found more blankets and supplies in the upstairs room. Apparently, Safaa and whoever had been taking care of her, had been staying in their home for quite a while and all of the food that wasn't in the kitchen had been hidden in closets, and under the bed and in the bathroom upstairs. They brought it all together, and packed what they could. It was almost midnight, as far as they could tell, and Safaa had passed out on the tattered couch, blankets piled around her. It was probably one of the most peaceful sleeps she had had in a while, and Zayn was grateful for that. He and Louis were sitting at the kitchen table with a candle flickering in the middle, while Harry attempted to make tea with warm water and a few tea bags he found in the nearly empty cupboards. 

"It's not much, but it will do." Harry whispered, trying to get a rise out of the boys. Louis attempted a chuckle but Zayn was lost in deep thought, trying to put the pieces together as to how Safaa was still here, and where his family was. This meant something completely different. This changed everything. His family was alive, and they had probably left Safaa for the night to get more supplies. He hoped it was his other sisters at least, and they were safe for the night. They couldn't come back tonight even if they wanted to. The streets outside were scattered with the dead. That's how it went at night. 

Louis cleared his throat, and crossed his arms, looking at Zayn curiously. "Don't get your hopes up." He tried to say as sincerely as possible. He hated to say things like this, but he had to be real. There was enough hurt and pain for eternity, and they didn't need more added to it. But, Zayn wasn't having it. He snapped his eyes at Louis for a minute, glaring at him before finally sighing, running a hand through his hair. It wasn't like it used to be. It was everywhere now, and it was long enough for Zayn to put into a ponytail, which is what he did regularly, otherwise he would just chop it off with his dagger. Louis basically did the same thing, chopping his hair off with his knife, but he was better at it than Zayn, still managed to make it look nice, and he did Harry's too when his curls were too long. They all looked like they had aged ten years, and lost about fifty pounds. It was a blessing that they were still alive and well. 

"I know, but someone had to have been protecting Safaa. She couldn't just take care of herself on her own, especially for so long. I-I hate to admit, but she isn't like the last time I saw her, and I-I wouldn't t-think she would b-be sane enough t-to take care of herself now." Of course that made sense. She wasn't the same little girl with the bright eyes and hyper, caring personality. She wasn't even a little girl any more. Zayn struggled to catch his breath and steady his voice, aware that Louis was staring at him with sad eyes. "I-I'm just hoping it was someone f-from-"

"Your family?" Harry said sadly, trying to give Zayn a smile. "There's always hope, Zayn. No matter what, it will be okay." He handed both Zayn and Louis their teas, ignoring the incredulous look that Louis was giving him.

"Thank you, Harry."

After a few minutes, and their teas had been sucked down, giving them a little full feeling in their stomachs, they decided it was time for rest. They all slept close together, and close to Safaa, wanting to feel as secure as possible.

"Goodnight, everyone." Harry was in a cheerful mood for some reason and there was a hint of a smile in his voice, for the first time in a while.

"I love you all. " He added a few moments later, and Zayn felt a hand squeeze him and yeah, maybe Harry was right. Maybe everything would be okay.

 ~

_"Niall, what are you doing?"_

_"There's someone out there."_

_"Where?"_

_"Look!" Niall was pointing. He was pointing to a mix of trees back behind Sherwin's backyard. They were just grilling, enjoying a night by themselves. But, it was something. A person. Niall couldn't see it that close, but he knew it was limping and it was hurt._

_"Oh, my god, who is that?" Harry breathed suddenly, standing up to go by Niall._

_Sherwin's flipped another ham burger on the grill, before turning to see what the boys were looking at. "Is there someone breaking into my yard? Fuck. I thought the gate behind the trees sealed it off from the highway."_

_"Yeah, Sherwin, it wasn't really smart to get a house right here." Zayn chuckled, eyeing the limping person, still unclear as to what they looked like. He thought he probably should go help, but the person was so far away, and he was too drunk to care. Sherwin gave him a look, but Zayn just shrugged, pressing the beer bottle to his lips, and taking another swig. It was almost empty, and it wasn't even his first one._

_Louis laughed loudly, shaking his head. He was just as pissed drunk as Zayn was. "He's right, you know. Now you've got strays."_

_"What's going on? What is Niall doing?" Liam came outside from the sliding door, and Zayn looked back again, to see Niall slowly jogging towards the hurt person._

_"Oi! You better be careful!" Harry yelled, but Niall just waved him off. He still had a little ways to go, considering Sherwin's had a pretty big yard, despite the fact he lived right by the city. It wasn't until Niall was until about twenty feet away from the person that Niall stopped, and it was quiet, the only sounds coming from the high way. Cars speeding by, and sirens going by occasionally. Zayn found himself anxious, wondering why Niall had suddenly stopped. Was this person okay?_

_"Oh, my god." Niall yelled, signaling that something wasn't right. "He looks like he's been hit by a car!" Niall turned and yelled at them, but the person was still limping towards him, and even though the boys couldn't see very well, they noticed the way the person's head turned when he spotted Niall, and whatever it was started to wave its arms slightly, making it seem like it was trying to run, but wasn't doing a very good job._

_By now Harry and Liam both grew concerned, and were power walking towards Niall and the person._

_Niall turned back to get a closer look at the person, who was now only ten feet away._

_"Hey, mate, are you alright? Do you need medical attention?"_

_"Niall! Wait!" Harry yelled, jogging a little._

_"My god, you're bleeding every- wait, what are you doing? Stop!" Niall could tell it was a male, and he could tell it was trying to attack Niall. "Stop!" Niall started backing up, but the man, the thing, decided to run after him, no longer worried about the limp. Harry and Liam were full on running, and Zayn wasn't far behind, tossing away his beer._

_It was too late. It jumped on Niall, and that's when he screamed. "Holy, shit! What are you-No, god, get it off, get the fucking thing off. Help!"  It screamed before attacking Niall's arm, and Niall couldn't do anything but try to kick him off and scream, the pain the most excruciating thing he'd ever felt. "Stop, stop! Someone help, oh, my god." It went for his neck, tearing off the skin with it's teeth._

_Zayn seemed to catch up to him, as did the other boys. They tried to pry the man off Niall but then he tried to bite Harry and that's when Zayn resorted to beating it._

_"Get the fuck off!" He said, kicking it each time he spit out a word. He pushed it aside, off of Niall and Liam took the opportunity to pick Niall up and drag him away from the thing. Sherwin was running at them, holding a butcher's knife in his hand._

_It got a hold of Zayn and decided to jump on him and Zayn screamed. But, it was off before it could bite him, Sherwin stabbing it in the head. Zayn screamed again, turning away and trying to see if Niall was okay. Liam was screaming and it was the first time Zayn had seen him like this. He looked at Niall's face, which was contorted in pain. He couldn't move. He was trying to catch his breathe, and Harry was trying to help him._

_There was so much blood._

_Liam continued screaming._

_Sherwin couldn't stop looking at the dead thing in front of him, his knife sticking out its head._

_Harry couldn't help Niall._

_All Niall could do was look at Zayn. They were only a few feet away from each other, both laying on the grass. Harry was holding him, trying to apply pressure to where the thing had bitten him, but it was no use. There was fear, and anger, and sadness in Niall's blue eyes. He kept panting, and then he looked at all of his friends, not saying anything, but they knew. He looked back once at Zayn, and all Zayn could do was stare right back at him, not being able to get back up._

_"No," Harry gasped._

_It was the most graphic thing Zayn had ever seen, and he closed his eyes, hoping that it was just a drunken hallucination._

~

Zayn trusting what Harry said was probably the stupidest thing he had ever done. 

They had woken up, eaten some beans from one of the cans they had, all quiet. Zayn let Safaa sleep in as much as possible, hoping that she would be at least a little well rested for the day. They would have to find the rest of his family, and he hoped they had found shelter last night after they realized the biters were here. 

"Do you think it'll be a good day today?" Louis said curiously, trying to dig out the rest of his beans. "Maybe we'll find something to eat."

"Actual food?" The corner of Zayn's lips lifted up slightly, amused by what Louis was saying. "You're crazy."

"You don't know. Anything could happen." Harry said softly, and Zayn frowned at him. He was being awfully optimistic. "We could find a rabbit or something. A  farm maybe." 

Zayn snorted loudly, but quickly quieted down when he heard Safaa stir on the couch. "There are absolutely zero chances of us finding a farm, especially here. And, even if we did, what's the chance it won't be over run by those _things_?" He zeroed in on Harry, because how dare that boy give him hope. He still tries to give him hope even after all of this. A year of bullshit and death. No, Zayn didn't need help. He liked it the way it was. Or, at least, he needed it to be that way.

"Zayn," Louis tried to hush him, but no, he didn't need this right now. 

"Harry, you've seen the exact same things I have. You've seen the people we love die. You didn't even get to say goodbye to your _mother,"_ He watched as Harry winced, but he couldn't take it back. "You've seen people betray others and brutally kill others just so they could survive. You saw Liam _die,_ and become one of  _them.  How could you say there is hope for us? Huh? How?"_ Zayn was almost reaching the point of yelling, Harry backing away from him. He couldn't look Zayn in the eye and Louis could do nothing more than stare at them, shocked. 

"What's going on?" They both turned to see Safaa standing in the door way to the kitchen. She rubbed at her eyes, her hair a mess, and she was covered in the large blanket Zayn had given her. "Why are you yelling?" 

"Have some humanity, Zayn. Hope is what keeps us going, and it took me a long ass time to figure that one out." That was the only thing Harry could say, but it was what shut Zayn up. Harry had a hard look in his eye, something Zayn saw rarely, like when Liam died, and Harry had no choice to kill him when he came back as a biter. 

"Safaa, come on, let's go upstairs." Louis was the one who grabbed her hand, not her own brother, and took her to the room that she hid in. There were a few board games that were locked away in the closet, not used in ages, but maybe they could make use of it now.

Zayn watched them go, wishing he was the one comforting his sister. After all, he hadn't seen her in a year. He should have gone to her. He shouldn't have started this fight with Harry, but what could he do? He was paralyzed to the spot. Not knowing whether to go to Safaa or swallow his pride and apologize to Harry for the inconsiderate mess he just spits out.

But, Harry made the decision for him, following Louis and going upstairs with them. 

Now suddenly  _he_ was the bad guy.

 

~

_"Last flight to Manchester, England. Now boarding." Was called over the speakers, and that's when the four boys got up from the seats, uneasy and tired._

_Liam's eyes were bloodshot, and Louis looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. He had his arm around Harry, trying to steady the boy, who had just woken up from a nap on his shoulder. "Come on." He whispered gently, basically dragging Harry towards the gate._

_All Zayn could do was stare. He was paranoid, looking left and right. This was one of the last airports still working in America, security and military men at every corner, trying desperately to get every single person out of this place, and somewhere safe. It had only been a few days since they had lost Niall,and since the epidemic had broken it out in America, and the pain wasn't going away any time soon. But, Zayn was taking the worst of it all. Niall had looked at him, and only him, right before he died. He had looked at the other boys, but Zayn was the last thing Niall saw in his life. And, Zayn would have to take that wherever they go._

_"Let's get on this fucking plane already." Harry managed to say, still holding on to Louis like he was his life line._

_The only thing the other boys could do was nod._

 

~ 

Zayn Malik can be the first to tell you that it fucking _sucks_ remembering things. 

Because you remember the good things. Your favorite memories. Your worst memories. The people you loved, and the places you went to, and things you've done. The people who had come and gone in your life, and unfortunately, most of those people had never come back. And, being in the house was drowning him in those memories. They were also giving him bad ones now, and that was only suffocating him further. 

"We need to go now." He hadn't apologized to Harry. How could he? What was he supposed to say? A simple 'sorry' wasn't going to suffice, but he was pretty sure Harry wouldn't forgive him no matter how hard he tried. Yes, Harry was always the kind hearted one. He was the first one to say 'it's okay,' but what Zayn did was plain wrong, and he was pretty sure he wouldn't even forgive himself. 

"What do you mean?" Louis looked up from the papers that him, Harry, and Safaa had been drawing on. They were just trying to entertain her, hoping that Zayn would be able to clear his thoughts. 

"It's pure daylight. It stopped raining an hour ago, and the biters are gone. Our only option is to go now, while we still can, and while the streets our cleared. We can get a car from one of the houses down the street, fire it up and go." Zayn sighed, pulling his hair up for the first time today.

"But what about Valeria?" 

They all looked at Safaa, noticing the way her eyes seemed to swell up with tears. Zayn didn't want to let her down again, so of course he was the first one to her, not quite pushing Harry and Louis away, but they both knew when they needed to give them space, so they moved. Zayn wrapped his arms around his sister, holding her close, and rubbing her head, knowing it was something that used to calm her when she was younger. It apparently still had the same effect, because she was quieting down, and they were glad that the houses walls were just thick enough for no sound to be heard from the outside. They were very grateful for that. 

After about ten minutes, Safaa had finally calmed down all the way, Zayn whispering in her ear that it would be okay, and just to think good. Think good thoughts, and happy memories, and yeah, maybe Harry did want to punch Zayn in the fact because how could he tell a little girl to do that when Zayn had just yelled at him about doing things like that? It wasn't fair, but Harry just kept his mouth shut. 

"Now, who his Valerie?" He whispered calmly. 

"Valer _ia,_ Zayn, with an accent." She said, and even though she wouldn't look at him, Zayn knew that she was just trying to be smart, and he smiled a little. It felt nice.

"Okay, who is that?" He asked, waiting for her reply.

Louis didn't want to watch this. He hadn't really agreed when Harry was trying to give everyone hope that things would be fine, and he didn't agree when Zayn insisted that his family was alive, but he didn't want to see Zayn crumble, because Louis just  _knew._ He knew it wasn't any of Zayn's family taking care of Safaa; he could feel it in his gut. He knew it was someone else, and he knew Zayn didn't want to admit that, let alone accept it. But, he just seemed so ready, and hopeful, despite what he had just got on to Harry about, that his family was out there, but the way Safaa was acting, that wasn't the case.

So, Louis turned around, and walked out of the room, not wanting to see Zayn's face. Harry didn't know what to do, so he just followed Louis, because no matter how much Harry wanted to think things would be okay, they weren't going to be. At least, not for Zayn, and not for Safaa, and certainly not for them. 

"She was protecting me." Safaa whispered. "She left yesterday, to get more things. Food." She put her arms around Zayn then, wanting him to be close to her. It was like she was apologizing for almost leaving before Zayn found her, and she hadn't wanted that at all. She loved Valeria with her heart. The girl didn't have to take Safaa and protect her. She could've just left her, but that wasn't was going to happen. But, Safaa needed family. The family that had always been there, and she had almost accepted that they were truly gone, and suddenly Valeria leaves for a day and Zayn's here, in the house, and he's  _real._ Not a part of her imaginations. Not the imaginary Zayn that she always pretended tucked her in before she went to sleep or she talked to when Valeria wasn't there. Not the one in her dreams, or even her nightmares. No, it was her actual brother. And, even though she was so young, she wanted him to know she was sorry. For everything. 

Zayn couldn't see that though. He couldn't move. The only thing he managed was a noise, somewhere between a choke and a sob, coming from his throat. His heart felt like it was being run over by a bull dozer, and no, he shouldn't have thought this. He shouldn't have hoped. He was wrong for telling Harry to stop, when he was doing it himself.   
"Zayn, please, I'm sorry." Safaa had started to cry again, and that's when Zayn snapped out of it, hugging her sister back. "We almost left you, and I'm sorry, so, so sorry. We were going to try to go to London, and w-we a-a-almost lef-ft you." 

"No, no, don't you dare cry, okay? We're both together. It's okay." Safaa was enough. She was the youngest, and at least she was safe. At least she was his family. At least she was still here. 

He had heard what she had said about London, and he would have to ask her later. But, there was too much crying for today. He didn't need this for his sister.

"Can you tell me where you think Valeria is right now?" Zayn swallowed his sadness, because obviously his most important concern was his little sister.

"She was supposed to come back last night. I d-don't know what happened now." Safaa gulped, trying to keep her tears at bay. She wanted to show her brother she had grown up. She wanted him to be proud of her, and let him know that she had grown up since the last time he saw her. 

But Zayn knew there was a chance that Safaa's friend, protector-call her what you will-was dead, especially since the streets were infested last night. Zayn was trying to put everything together, knowing well that they had to move on, whether or not this Valeria was alive.

Suddenly, he seemed to be coming back to reality because Harry was talking. 

"You said you were going to London?" he asked Safaa gently. Zayn had the sudden urge to tell Harry to shut up, because hadn't Safaa been through enough? But, Louis seemed to sense his discomfort with Harry talking to his sister because then Louis' hand was on his shoulder, and he was giving Zayn a reassuring smile. It did little to quiet down Zayn's uneasiness, but it did enough. 

"Y-yes, Harry." she seemed to relax when Harry flashed her a warm smile, something that they hadn't seen on his face in a while.  "Valeria had found a car and we were driving when we heard.. a voice!" The tone in her voice startled them, and there eyes widened even further when they realized what she said.

"A voice?" Louis repeated quietly. Safaa's eyes grew wide, like there was a deep secret she had that was bursting to come out. There was a bit of insanity in them, and if the boys had been paying attention to them, they wold have seen how Safaa had really grown, and it would probably have been one of the saddest things witnessed in the past year. 

"Yes..it wasn't clear, and it kept losing connection, but we heard "London" and "refugee" and Val said that that was our best bet." She exhaled deeply as though she had ben holding her breath for the past few minutes, but really it was just the intensity of the discovery that kept her exhilarated. 

"Oh." 

~

_"It's our best bet." Liam replied to Harry's question._

_"But, Leeds was infected from the start. How is that a good place for us?" Louis asked, remembering when the televisions reported what cities had been most dangerous in the beginning, back when televisions were still operating._

_"It's been a while, and we're about an hour away from downtown. After we rest and find proper transportation, we can head to Bradford." Liam glanced at Zayn, not missing the wince on Zayn's face when Liam mentioned his hometown. Zayn had to go back; he had to see what was left of his family's home, if there was anything there at all. They had been roaming for almost a year, meeting numerous people, and even forming packs to keep each other safe. Of course, those packs had always ended, either by everyone turning on each other, or people simply turning. It just wasn't safe anymore._

_"Hey, do you think there was festival when Leeds got infected?" Harry attempted a joke. "Perhaps we'll see biters who looked like they were coming from a concert?" He shuddered like it was the most disgusting thing you could think of.  Only Harry would think of this, and only Louis would try to joke a long with him._

_"Harold, we saw enough when we went to festival, and those people were_ alive.  _Let's not bring that up again."_

_"Can you both shut up? Joking isn't going to get us there any quicker." Liam snapped. Louis just sighed, because, really, there was no point in fighting him. He had been like this for about five, six, months._

_They all stayed quiet after that. Mostly, anyway. Louis was actually annoyed at Liam. He understood. Liam was just now beginning to accept the fact that he had lost his entire family. It was hard on him. Louis had gone insane for a bit, refusing to come near any of the boys for weeks, but they insisted on staying. That was amazing to him. All these people in the world had turned on each other, killing each other to survive from those trying to kill them. Yet, there were these three other boys who refused to leave Louis' side, especially when they coulde have just left him easy and went on packing._

_Liam was a different story. He had always been level-headed, trying to find a solution for everything without making everything a disaster. This was one thing, though, that he was not doing that with. He was taking his angry out on all of the boys, snapping at them and putting them down, and Louis was one comment away from punching Liam square in the jaw, not caring if it hurt him or not. It wasn't like he wanted to, but maybe it would snap Liam back to reality. All they had was each other. Liam had to know that._

_"God, it's such a mess." Harry whispered, looking at all the debris. You think that almost after a year of this that boy would get used to it._

_"It's the zombie apocalypse. What did you expect?"  Louis smirked, remembering how his snide comments would usually throw the boys into small fits of laughter. Especially Niall._

_Niall._

_That was still hard, on all of them._

_"Can you both shut up? They'll find us." Liam hissed, pulling them back against a couple littered trash cans when one of the biters emerged from behind a dusted up truck. When was the last time someone had been here?  
_

_Liam had a bad feeling about this. He peeked from around the trashcan to see the thing sniffing the air, as if smelling them. It was disgusting. It had been a girl once, with long blonde hair. And, tall. Liam briefly wondered what she had been doing when this happened to her. Had she been on her way to festival? Was she going on a date? Out with family or friends? Her clothes were too tattered to tell, and her flesh was a different story. Ripped apart in several places. Half her nose was gone. Liam felt a tinge of guilt._

_How come he got to live and she didn't?_

_Wait, he couldn't think that way. That's not how you survived in these situations._

_It's like she/it knew Liam was thinking about her. At that very moment, she snapped her head(as quickly as she could with being a walking corpse and all) towards their direction, and Harry freaked out so bad that he yelped._

_That sent the dead in a frenzy. It wheezed and groaned as loud as it possibly could. Still, it wasn't much. They could definitely take it down, easy. Liam would smack Harry later for blowing their cover._

_~_

_  
_"So, London it is then?" Louis smirked slightly. Zayn just shot him a look. It had been two hours. Safaa's outburst drained her of energy, so she was currently taking a nap. Zayn could not stop looking between her and the rumpled map in front of him. He still didn't understand how he had been this blessed. He had his sister back.

 _"_ I say we wait one more night, and then next morning we leave." Harry piped up. He had been quiet since he had first asked Safaa about the voice. Zayn guessed that Harry finally got the hint from Zayn that asking Safaa about it had not been a very good idea at the time. Judging by the sun(because who had a watch that told the actual time anymore?) it was probably mid-morning. If they really wanted to, they could wake up Safaa right now, and leave. Force her to go with them. 

Because Zayn knew she would not go willingly if her friend wasn't her either. 

God, it was so frustrating. He just wanted to leave. This house was bringing back enough, and there was too much nostalgia involved that Zayn almost wanted to throw up. It made him so happy he was depressed. But, he couldn't make Safaa leave. This could be the one place where she feels safe, at least for now. 

"And, how do you suppose I will get Safaa out? Not without her friend." Zayn had almost forgotten to reply back to Harry, but did so quickly when he realized Harry was still waiting for an answer. 

Louis paced slowly around the kitchen in concentration. It was making Zayn anxious. 

"We could always search for her." Harry shrugged, and Louis snorted. 

"Yeah, right, Haz. Out there? The streets were filled just hours ago. We can't try our luck."

_Not again._

Louis shook his head, trying to shake the memory out of his head. It was too late. He pulled at his ragged white shirt, making the tiny holes in it slightly bigger. They would probably find a store somewhere. Hopefully. He was sick of wearing the clothes here, and, obviously, someone had raided Zayn's house before Safaa had made it back from Paris with Valeria. There was only scraps of clothing left, small boy clothes from when Zayn was maybe twelve and a few girl dresses. No way was Louis going to even think about trying those on. 

At Louis' comment, Harry's eyes darkened. Louis hated it for him. He still blamed himself. Truth be told, it had not been that long, but Harry did not need to keep blaming himself for what happened. It could have been any of them. Harry turned away from Louis before he could say anything else. 

"Can we ask where Safaa thought Valeria would be going?" Harry leaned against the wall opposite the refrigerator and next to the door to the living room, closing his eyes.

"Someone call for me?"

Louis and Zayn whipped around to see a girl. Not just any girl. She had to be a little younger than Zayn, maybe Harry's age, with dark, curly hair and bright eyes. She wore all black. 

Oh, and, she was also holding a knife to Harry's neck. 

Harry gulped, or tried to, but just ended up coughing because of how close the small dagger was pressed to his skin. "Um," Harry barely managed. "Help?" The girl simply grabbed a fistful of Harry's hair and anked him down to her height, causing him to yelp. 

"Who. Are. You? And, more importantly, how do you know my name?" Her eyes narrowed, pulling Harry's hair tighter. 

"Safaa." Zayn whispered, and the girl's, apparently Valeria, eyes widened. 

"What the hell did you do to her?" She spit out, not at all hesitating to let them know what would happen if the answer was bad. Zayn's heart pounded. Not Harry. No. 

"Relax." Louis smirked at her, which probably wasn't the best thing to do. But, you could see the hardness in his eyes. If this girl hurt Harry in any way, Louis would kill her. Safaa's friend or not. 

"Safaa.. is Zayn's sister." He pointed at Zayn, but all Zayn could do was produce a blank stare. "See the resemblance?" 

Valeria seemed to debate that for a few minutes, her eyes narrowing even smaller than before. 

"How do I know you're not lying?" That was probably the dumbest question Louis had heard all year, and despite the end of the world, he had heard some pretty dumb ones. But, he knew she wasn't dumb. Eyes give away everything. Louis was a firm believer in "eyes being the window to your soul," or some shit his mom told him when he was little. Anyway. There was knowledge in her eyes. She was testing them. 

"Bring Safaa out here, and do not let her see you." Louis said simply, and she scoffed, not taking him seriously. "Go on. See how she reacts to Zayn. Take Harry if you want." Harry's eyes widened at that, but Louis winked at him. So, the girl grumbled before taking a stumbling Harry to the other side of the fridge, where Safaa wouldn't see them if she were to come into the kitchen.

"Saf!" Louis yelled. What was he doing? No yelling. Even in broad daylight there could be horrible consequences. Especially Louis knew that. Harry stared wide-eyed at Louis, and even from where he was standing, Zayn could see the sweat on his forehead. Zayn cleared his throat, trying to focus on getting Harry out of trouble more than what would happen if he could not.

"Yes?" She practically hissed, slumping into the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes. Louis simply smiled at her. "Why did you wake me up?"

"Just wanted to make sure you were alright." Louis was starting to agitate Zayn, but he tried to put on a smile too.

"Saf, how did you sleep? Do you want anything? Beans?" He said it seriously, but Louis chuckled, because that's all they could eat. Anything that came out of a can really. He tried not to look at Harry, or their intruder holding him. 

"Zayn, it's fine. I'm just a little tired." She glared at Louis and practically spit at him. Zayn would have laughed. Safaa was like him, preferring sleep almost over anything else. She attempted to push some stray hair out of her face. 

"Well, come here." Zayn demanded, holding his arms out. Safaa immediately went to him like she was four years old again, needing her older brother to protect her from the scary monsters under her bed. That's really how she felt, and Zayn would do everything he could to protect her, considering those monsters had come to life.afa

"Alright, alright. I get it." Valeria came away from the fridge, still holding Harry, where Safaa could see her. She was so startled that she attempted to scream, but Zayn put his hand over her mouth, because screaming would not be very good at a moment like this. 

The girl,  _still_ holding Harry, smiled at Safaa as she tried to calm down. Zayn watched the girl, narrowing his eyes. When she finally looked at him he gave her a head nod, obviously saying, "let go of harry now, and if you touch him again I won't hesitate to slit your throat."

Apparently, Valeria got the message. She let go of Harry, who stumbled over to Louis, and Louis took him in his arms, because he knew how close that was. If Valeria had not known Safaa, she wouldn't have hesitated to kill Harry, and that would have been it. Three of them gone. Two left.

Zayn and Louis would not have known what to do.

"Call me Val, by the way. I like it better than when people use my full name." She stuck her tongue out in disgust, and Safaa giggled, or tried to, with Zayn's hand still pressed to her mouth. He immediately let go of her, and she practically jumped on Valer- Val. 

"Hey, munchkin." Val pet Safaa's hair, and Zayn felt something in his heart. He didn't like how close Safaa was to her. Not one bit. 

"So, there you go." Louis said after a few minutes. "Told you." He joked with Val, but there was a serious edge to his tone. Val simply rolled her eyes, hugging Safaa a little tired. After a few moments of silence, it became awkward.

But, they would have much rather it had stayed that way then what was to happen next. 

 


	2. sometimes it feels like it's that end of the world and that's no fun

Sometimes it really felt like the world was ending and that's no fun at all. Of course Zayn wasn't stupid. He knew the world had already gone to shit. But, sometimes he actually felt like it was all over. He felt like the sun was just going to touch the Earth and burn them all. Sometimes he wanted that. Other times, like now, he certainly did not.

Zayn certainly did not like the fact that his family was not alive. He did not like the fact that the rest of his family was not able to make it out of France like Safaa did. He did not like the fact that he had been so daft as to hope that they could have survived in their small house for a year. He did not like the fact that some girl named Valeria had been taking care of his sister for so long. Who was she anyway? And, Zayn certainly did not like the fact that at that very moment of happy reunion, the front door let out a huge crash.

It was like everything fell to shit rather quickly. Safaa started to scream, although that wasn't her best idea, Harry and Louis immediately ran towards the sound, taking out their daggers in the process, and Valeria well, she looked like she was ready to kill anything that stood in front of her.

"What the fuck? Did you guys not barricade the windows? The doors?" If looks could kill, Zayn would be dead already. "

No, we didn't plan on staying here this long!" Zayn exclaimed, grabbing Harry's sword. He had [stupidly] left it on the kitchen counter. Zayn ran towards the front door, "Go upstairs with Safaa! Protect her." He practically screamed at Valeria, who wasted no time in grabbing the young girl and going to the living room, where the stairs would be.

When Zayn reached the foyer, he felt like it was one of those times when the Sun had touched the Earth. At least 20 biters were trying to get through the doorway and to Harry and Louis, who had only killed about 8 corpses total. Hopelessness consumed Zayn as he barreled towards the dead, but he still had to try. He had to try for Safaa. They had never had these many corpses go at them at once. At least not without losing someone.

Liam.

~

_"Harry, run!" Louis was screaming as he stabbed another biter in the head. This one had jumped out from behind one of the abandoned cars. This was getting absolutely ridiculous. Where were they all coming from? One minute it had been that ugly blonde chick with no nose, and then suddenly forty of the undead were 'running' towards them from around the corner. Harry, of course, was the closest to all of them, and had a very late reaction. Louis rolled his eyes as he cut off the head of some thirty year old body with a tattered business suit. It sometimes amazes him how long Harry has lived. He would never admit the fact that he couldn't live with himself if Harry was the next to leave. He couldn't do that, no._

**Author's Note:**

> so yeah this is it i guess /??? It's dedicated to my wonderful friend, Val(savedhaven/fistlourry on tumblr!!) and I really hope whoever reads it likes it. My twitter is @dateslouis and my tumblr is bangsniall if you have any questions. I love you all for reading, you are literally all amazing, okay. There will be more, trust me. I sort of lost the will to write, but I really hope this is good. Thank you. Val, merry Christmas!


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